Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory gets SM2.0 - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 4th Aug 2005, 08:21

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/08/04/scct_sm20/

iaMtHeAnimaL · 4th Aug 2005, 14:39

HDR Rendering for ATI SM2.0

Is this a world first? It looks pretty slick anyway...

The_Pope · 4th Aug 2005, 15:45

err, who said anything about HDR??

iaMtHeAnimaL · 4th Aug 2005, 16:01

Err, I did.

Install the patch... go into advanced graphic settings... enable Shader Model 2.0... go into shader options... and you will see HDR rendering on/off.

Tim S · 4th Aug 2005, 16:18

Bigz's just doing it now, im (Bindi) am sitting here watching him install it on Wil's PC.

...
Apparently so! Tim's testing it now...

...
We arent sure. Tim's gonna look into it more later but using an nvidia card (6/7x) there's no SM2 option only 1 or 3, whereas ATI x8x has obviously only 1 or 2.

BoomAM · 4th Aug 2005, 22:27

About time.
I was planning on replaying the game anyway. Now i can with better gfx.

Whats the performance difference with HDR switched on anyway?
I was running it at 1280x1024@max w/16xAF and it ran fine on my X800XL.
Any screenshots of the areas that have the biggest difference?

Da Dego · 4th Aug 2005, 22:55

So is this going to be like HL2 HDR? A bit stripped down compared to farcry, etc, but still much prettier than it did look? Or have we now found a way to make HDR look brilliant in SM2?

Tim S · 4th Aug 2005, 23:54

Give me chance, we should have something up tomorrow - I'm just waiting for some answers to some technical questions to come back from ATI.

BoomAM · 5th Aug 2005, 01:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da Dego

So is this going to be like HL2 HDR? A bit stripped down compared to farcry, etc, but still much prettier than it did look? Or have we now found a way to make HDR look brilliant in SM2?

If you can actually SEE the difference between SM2 HDR & SM3 HDR with your bare eyes and no zooming in/image enhansements to see the differences then i'll openly wear an Inter shirt in public. And trust me. Thats not gonna happen (AC Fan

)

Tim S · 5th Aug 2005, 11:22

You'd better get your Inter shirt out then...

BoomAM · 5th Aug 2005, 13:41

I just find it amusing that so many people claim to be able to see the difference, yet they are only going off developer comments or comparisons where the author of the comparison has spent the best part of his weekend trying to see the difference. If you put two games side by side, one with HDR SM2 & one with HDR SM3, then theres a very very slim chance that anyone will be able to tell the difference between the two.

Tim S · 5th Aug 2005, 13:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoomAM

I just find it amusing that so many people claim to be able to see the difference, yet they are only going off developer comments or comparisons where the author of the comparison has spent the best part of his weekend trying to see the difference. If you put two games side by side, one with HDR SM2 & one with HDR SM3, then theres a very very slim chance that anyone will be able to tell the difference between the two.

I've been working on this independantly, that is not a comment coming from a developer or a GPU manufacturer, that is a comment based on my experiences of messing around with the game for ~1 hour yesterday.

I am currently waiting for answers to some technical questions that I asked ATI about the new patch, seeing as they worked together with Ubisoft Montreal in order to create this new shader path for ATI hardware.

BoomAM · 5th Aug 2005, 14:33

So your saying that you can see a difference between SM3 & SM2 HDR?

I doubt it some how. Unless you know what your looking for, and 99% of people on the planet dont, they wouldnt even notice.

Tim S · 5th Aug 2005, 14:57

You will see for yourself later...

Bindibadgi · 5th Aug 2005, 15:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoomAM

So your saying that you can see a difference between SM3 & SM2 HDR?

I doubt it some how. Unless you know what your looking for, and 99% of people on the planet dont, they wouldnt even notice.

But then do people notice every single evolution of CPU/GFX and process etc? Probably, but people still buy them and people still overclock.

BoomAM · 5th Aug 2005, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bindibadgi

But then do people notice every single evolution of CPU/GFX and process etc? Probably, but people still buy them and people still overclock.

Thats my point. Half the time its just phycological.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigz

You will see for yourself later...

I dont need to wait till later. Ive seen it running in HDR SM2 on my system, and HDR SM3 on a mates system, and neither of us can see a difference big enough to warrent the flack that ATI/SM2.0 HDR gets.

Bindibadgi · 5th Aug 2005, 16:19

But implementing it on SM3 is easier than 2.

BoomAM · 5th Aug 2005, 16:28

I havnt said otherwise.
My arguement is IQ. Nothing more.

Bindibadgi · 5th Aug 2005, 16:57

True, then why do we strive to achieve it?

Tim S · 5th Aug 2005, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoomAM

My arguement is IQ. Nothing more.

Well, there are differences, the differences are related to the number of colours available to each GPU for the primary render target in something like HDR.

4th Aug 2005, 08:21	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory gets SM2.0 http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/08/04/scct_sm20/ __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

4th Aug 2005, 16:18	#5
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Bigz's just doing it now, im (Bindi) am sitting here watching him install it on Wil's PC. ... Apparently so! Tim's testing it now... ... We arent sure. Tim's gonna look into it more later but using an nvidia card (6/7x) there's no SM2 option only 1 or 3, whereas ATI x8x has obviously only 1 or 2. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947) Last edited by Tim S; 4th Aug 2005 at 16:45.

4th Aug 2005, 22:27	#6
BoomAM Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: UK Posts: 133	About time. I was planning on replaying the game anyway. Now i can with better gfx. Whats the performance difference with HDR switched on anyway? I was running it at 1280x1024@max w/16xAF and it ran fine on my X800XL. Any screenshots of the areas that have the biggest difference? __________________ http://www.anandtech.com/myanandtech.html?member=76821 "I am standing in the sky on the roof of a glass and steel office tower in Rotterdam. There are twenty-one floors of air between me and the concrete pavement below. I am about to do what i do best. I am about to jump." - Jackie Chan

4th Aug 2005, 22:55	#7
Da Dego Brett Thomas Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH USA Posts: 3,906	So is this going to be like HL2 HDR? A bit stripped down compared to farcry, etc, but still much prettier than it did look? Or have we now found a way to make HDR look brilliant in SM2? __________________ "Frankly that seems overkill. iluvtrees2 arguing with spec is the intellectual equivalent of a bunny rabbit taking on a pissed-off lion." - Nexxo

4th Aug 2005, 23:54	#8
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Give me chance, we should have something up tomorrow - I'm just waiting for some answers to some technical questions to come back from ATI. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

4th Aug 2005, 14:39	#2
iaMtHeAnimaL What's a Dremel? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: UK Posts: 2	HDR Rendering for ATI SM2.0 Is this a world first? It looks pretty slick anyway...

4th Aug 2005, 15:45	#3
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	err, who said anything about HDR??

4th Aug 2005, 16:01	#4
iaMtHeAnimaL What's a Dremel? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: UK Posts: 2	Err, I did. Install the patch... go into advanced graphic settings... enable Shader Model 2.0... go into shader options... and you will see HDR rendering on/off.

5th Aug 2005, 11:22	#10
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	You'd better get your Inter shirt out then... __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

5th Aug 2005, 13:41	#11
BoomAM Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: UK Posts: 133	I just find it amusing that so many people claim to be able to see the difference, yet they are only going off developer comments or comparisons where the author of the comparison has spent the best part of his weekend trying to see the difference. If you put two games side by side, one with HDR SM2 & one with HDR SM3, then theres a very very slim chance that anyone will be able to tell the difference between the two. __________________ http://www.anandtech.com/myanandtech.html?member=76821 "I am standing in the sky on the roof of a glass and steel office tower in Rotterdam. There are twenty-one floors of air between me and the concrete pavement below. I am about to do what i do best. I am about to jump." - Jackie Chan

5th Aug 2005, 14:33	#13
BoomAM Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: UK Posts: 133	So your saying that you can see a difference between SM3 & SM2 HDR? I doubt it some how. Unless you know what your looking for, and 99% of people on the planet dont, they wouldnt even notice. __________________ http://www.anandtech.com/myanandtech.html?member=76821 "I am standing in the sky on the roof of a glass and steel office tower in Rotterdam. There are twenty-one floors of air between me and the concrete pavement below. I am about to do what i do best. I am about to jump." - Jackie Chan

5th Aug 2005, 14:57	#14
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	You will see for yourself later... __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

5th Aug 2005, 16:19	#17
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,284	But implementing it on SM3 is easier than 2. __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek!

5th Aug 2005, 16:28	#18
BoomAM Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: UK Posts: 133	I havnt said otherwise. My arguement is IQ. Nothing more. __________________ http://www.anandtech.com/myanandtech.html?member=76821 "I am standing in the sky on the roof of a glass and steel office tower in Rotterdam. There are twenty-one floors of air between me and the concrete pavement below. I am about to do what i do best. I am about to jump." - Jackie Chan

5th Aug 2005, 16:57	#19
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,284	True, then why do we strive to achieve it? __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek!